Method of making refractory bricks



Patented Dec. 21, 1937 UNITED STATES PA'T ENT OFFICE METHOD OFMAKING REFRACTORY BRICKS No Drawing. Application September 11, 1936,

' Serial No. 100,384 r 4 Claims.

This invention relates to refractory materials and refractory bodies, although more particularly to a refractory comprising mullite.

Heretofore mullite refractories have been made by using as 'starting materialsa ground mulliteforming substance and mixing therewith from 20% to 50% of a plasticizer and bond such as clay, whereupon the mixture is exposed to a single finishing heat treatment. After this heat treatment, the inorganic bonding substance is still present. It resides or is interspersed among and between the mullite particles as an adulterant so that in effect it constitutes weaker links among the stronger links of mullite in the chain or assembly of refractory particles;

Accordingly, one object of this invention is to devise a refractory material comprising essentially mullite. Another object is to effect the making of refractory bricks or other refractory forms composed substantially entirely of mullite crystals essentially without the presence thereamong of inorganic bonding or 'plasticizing substances orof other weaker adulterants. And yet another object is to effect a refractory mix which, prior to being pressed and burned into final shape, has the component materials thereof in physical and chemical equilibrium.

These andpossibly-other objects can be attained by using as starting material any raw ma- 30 terial or mixture of raw materials from which,

upon heating, there is yielded mullite. has the formula 3A12O3.2Si02. The chemical analysis of pure mullite would be 71.8% A1203 and 28.2Si02 so that the percentage ratio of A1203 to .3 SiO: is 2.55:1. If in the raw materials started with there is a deficienby below the theoretical requirements of the A1203 to Si02 ratio, it can be corrected by the addition of corundum or bauxite or clay before forming the mullite. The mixture is then heatedto a temperature in excess of 3100 F. with the result that mulliteis formed in a stabilized condition, that is, in chemical and physical equilibrium, Thereafter the mullite isground, classified or sized. tempered and formed as into bricks. The bricks are subsequently dried, and burned at a sufficiently high temperature.

- I As raw starting materials, there may be used Mullite Kyanite, sillimanite and andalusite are aluminum silicates having the composition Al203.SiO2.

If 100% pure, they have the analysis of 36.8% SiOz and 63.2% of A1203. Dumortierite is a basic aluminum silicate whose formula is 4Al2O3.3SiO2, 5 and when pure it contains 30.6% of Si02 and 69.4% of A1 03. Corundum is essentially pure A1203. Bauxite is hydrous aluminum oxide (AI2O3.2H2O). Clay, of-course, is a general term covering aluminum silicates in which the ratio 10 of alumina to silica varies considerably, and in using any given clay, the correction with either corundum or bauxite shouldbe calculated from analytical data.-

More particularly then, this invention is practiced by starting with raw material or a mixture of raw materials which, on heating, yield mullite but the material or mixture advantageously should have the A1203 and SiO2 components thereof so balanced or proportioned eithernaturallyor by correction, that after theheat treatment there remains essentially mullite without any weaker substance being present therewith as the result of conversion by heat. This heat treatment is carried out preferably in a rotary kiln at a temperature in excess of 3100 F.

The resulting mullite is ground as a result of one or more grinding operations, and sized or classified, whereby there can be controlled the desired particle shape, mesh ratio of sizes. and 0 surface condition. This heat-treated mullite material may be sold as such to refractory makers or users, but in any event, it should have the following treatments for making the material in. refractory shapes. The sized and ground material is then tempered in a wet pan (preferably by the use of heavy mullers, but in such a Way that the mesh ratio of particle size remains essentially unchanged) with water and some organic binder such as starch, goulac or the like, usually used to give sufficient strength to the green ware to permit the necessary handling to dryers and kilns and is formed into the desired shapes by the use of a power press, hydraulic press or by any of the usual methods. The shaped refractory bodies are then dried in a manner to preclude detrimental cracking. Next, the dried bodies or bricks are burned to a temperature in excess of 3000 F., preferably in a tunnel kiln, following a heat curve which insures proper burn' and curing to the center of the brick. The burning temperatures may vary slightly, depending upon the type of kiln and the length of time the bricks are allowed to soak at the maximum temperature. The finished bricks comprise essening chemical analysis:-

Per cent A1203 64.25 S102 31.06 F6203 2.29 CaO 1.02 MgO 0.18 The ratio of A1203 to S102 in this analysis is 2.08 to 1. This material with no corrections, treated in accordance with my process, will yield a very satisfactory brick composed essentially of mullite because the excess silica also yielded by the heat treatment is present as crystobalite which is non-detrimental in the final product. However, if it is desired to correct this material to exactly the mullite analysis, this correction would be made as follows:

For each 100# of mixture one would use 87 /21? of kyanite and 12 of corundum, which is essentially pure A1203.

#Al O; #SiOz s7.5# Kyanite 5e. 22 27. 18 12.5# Corundum. 12.50

The ratio of A1203 to SiOz in this mixture is 2.53 to 1. This mixture is chemically correct for the production of mullite. .Of course, by changing the amounts, a slight excess of deficiency of alumina can be obtained as desired.

Example 2Commdum and silica.-Since both these commodities are available in essentially pure forms, the. mixture would consist of '72 parts of corundum and 28 parts of silica.

Example 3Comndum and cZay.-Since clay is a general term, covering a wide range of alumina-silica ratios, I shall use, for the purpose of illustration, the clay called kaolinite,

which on the ignited basis contains 46% A1203 and 54% Si02. In 100# of a mixture of these two materials one would use the following:-

#Aho; #sion 52.51; Clay 24.15 28.35 47.5# Corundum 47. 50

Here again there is a starting ratio of A1203 to SiOz of 2.53 to 1. This mixture is chemically correct for the manufacture of mullite.

Example 4Bau:cite and clay-Theoretically Per cent A1203. 57.00 SiOz 8.00 Water 26.00

On the ignited basis this bauxite contains A1203 77.1%, silica 10.8%. To prepare a mixture of this bauxite with the kaolinite clay described, one would use for 100# of mixture:-

35# Clay 16.1 18. s 651 Bauxite 50.1 7.1

In this mixture the ratio of A1203 to SiOz is 2.54 to l and the mixture is chemically correct for the production of mullite. v

The advantages of the use of this'invention lie, first, in the close control maintainable in preparing the material for brick manufacture; second, in the fact that the prepared material is more suitable for the processing steps, especially the burning step; third, in the purity of the finished product with its superior characteristics; and fourth, in the avoidance of physical and chemical rearrangements during the burning of the shaped refractories.

More particularly, an important factor of this invention is the absence of bonding material and the fact that the needles of mullite which lie in various directions are interlocking and thus add strength to the refractory structure made thereof.

I claim:

1..The process of making a refractory material, which comprises heating to a temperature in excess of 3100 F. a mixture of at least one aluminum silicate mineral with another alumina bearing material whereby in theresulting mixture the ratio of A1203 to SiOz is such that after exposure to said temperature there remains a conversion stabilized product consisting essentially of mullite crystals substantiallyfree from weaker refractory material.

2. The process of making refractory bricks, which comprises heating groundmullite-yielding material to a temperature in excess of 3100 F. for effectingthe conversion thereof essentially entirely into mullite in chemical and physical equilibrium and substantially free from weaker refractory material, grinding the resulting mullite, tempering it, shaping it into bricks, drying the bricks, and burning the dried bricks in a kiln.

3. The process'according to claim 2, in which the mullite-yielding material is heated in a kiln.

4. The process according to claim 2, in which the ground mullite is mixed with an organic binder to aid in its shaping into bricks.

GILBERT E. SEIL. 

